Main menu

Le Mans camera car set for Monterey auction

1 of 4Originally built as a lightweight Mirage prototype racer, chassis No. P/1047 was rebuilt as a GT40 in 1968

Photo by Mathieu Heurtault, Courtesy of RM Auctions

2 of 4Before it entered the movie biz, the car had a fairly successful racing career

Photo by Mathieu Heurtault, Courtesy of RM Auctions

3 of 4As a camera car, the GT40 kept up with the fast-paced action on the set of Le Mans

Photo by Mathieu Heurtault, Courtesy of RM Auctions

4 of 4Substantially altered for filming, the car was later reconstructed before being completely restored in 2000.

Photo by Mathieu Heurtault, Courtesy of RM Auctions

Just in time for the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, RM Auctions has announced that it will be offering a Ford GT40 camera car used in the production of the 1971 film based on the race at its sale in Monterey, Calif., in August.

Le Mans, which starred Steve McQueen as the Gulf Porsche 917-driving Michael Delaney, is praised by enthusiasts for capturing the high-speed drama of the legendary endurance event. The film's production crew accomplished this feat by converting several high-performance cars into rolling camera platforms that could keep up with the on-track action.

As Hemmings reports, chassis No. P/1074 was one such car-turned-camera mount. Before it entered the movie biz, the car--first built as a lightweight Mirage sports prototype--was piloted to a first-place victory at Spa in 1967 by Jacky Ickx and Dick Thompson and saw action at other world-renown courses. Rebuilt as a GT40 for the 1968 racing season, it competed at Le Mans, Monza and Watkins Glen with varying degrees of success.

Though its bodywork was substantially altered for Le Mans filming, its sleek GT40 form was restored after the movie was completed, and the car underwent a total restoration after collector Bernie Carl purchased it in 2000.

Cars and motorcycles with a McQueen connection have a history of bringing top dollar at auction. Still, it remains to be seen whether a car one-degree removed from the King of Cool, such as the Le Mans GT40, can command a premium as well.

RM Auctions has provided no public preauction estimate, so we'll have to wait until August to find out.

Monterey car week is packed with car shows, vintage racing and car auctions. Autoweek will be there providing streaming photo galleries and live coverage of the Pebble Beach Concours, historic racing at Laguna Seca, the Monterey car auctions and plenty more. Go to autoweek.com/pebblebeach for complete coverage and live updates.

Graham Kozak
- Graham Kozak drove a 1951 Packard 200 sedan in high school because he wanted something that would be easy to find in a parking lot. He thinks all the things they're doing with fuel injection and seatbelts these days are pretty nifty too.
See more by this author»